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Vladimir Putin's stringent censorship laws amid Ukraine war don't apply to…
Vladimir Putin "increasingly relies" on them to maintain support for the war, according to military experts.
Despite strict censorship laws, one group continues to enjoy relative freedom in the Russia- military bloggers. Rising to prominence after Moscow's sudden invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Vladimir Putin "increasingly relies" on them to maintain support for the war, according to military experts.
The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) said that the president platforms, protects and selects pro-Kremlin bloggers to co-opt their audience and try to influence the wider ultranationalist community.
"Putin is likely setting information conditions to prevent potential lines of attack against the Kremlin in the event of Russian failure," the ISW said.
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The Russian president is also "increasingly aware" that pro-war social media figures are his "key constituency" for maintaining support among the Russian public.
This comes as deadly Russian missile strikes hit southern and eastern Ukraine on Wednesday while Kyiv claimed fresh advances in its long-awaited counteroffensive. Russia fired four Kalibr missiles on the southern port city of Odesa from a warship in the Black Sea, Ukraine's air force said, of which three were shot down but one missile hit a food warehouse, killing three employees and wounding seven.
Oleg Kiper, the head of the region's military administration said, “There may be people under the rubble.”
Another six other people were wounded after a business centre, shops and a residential complex in Odesa were damaged "as a result of air combat and the blast wave", he said. Russian missile strikes also killed three people in Kramatorsk and Kostiantynivka and destroyed dozens of private houses, regional authorities said as per news agency Reuters.
